Tea-chest



(No Model.)

T. B. THOMPSON, O. T. HULL 8; J. H. WILLMAN.

TEA CHEST.

No. 542,544. Patented guly 9, 1895.

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TYLAR B. THOMPSON AND CHARLES T. HULL, OF MISSOULA, MONTANA, AND

' JOHN H. WILLMAN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

TEA-CH EST.

PECIFIOATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 542,544, dated July 9, 1895.

Application filed October 1, 1894. Serial No. 524,661. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, TYLAR B. THOMPSON and CHARLES T. HULL, of Missoula, in the county of Missoula and State of Montana, and 5 JOHN H. WILLMAN, of San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and Improved Tea- Chest, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to that class of devices which are used for holding and transporting teas, spices, and other loose materials; and the object of our invention is to produce a cheap and simple device of this kind which isintended to displace the ordinary wooden leadlined tea-chest, which is adapted to carry its contents in such a manner as to keep them air-tight and damp and dust proof, which may be shipped cheaper and-to better advantage than the ordinary case, and which, when it reaches the retailer, may be used to advantage in dispensing its contents and will hold its contents in such a way that they will not deteriorate or be wasted. To these ends our invention consists of certain features of construction and combina tions of parts, which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a central vertical section on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2, showing our improved tea- 5 chest as ready for shipment. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 with the drawer of the chest pushed in. Fig. 3 is a broken plan showing the drawer pulled out ready for use in dispensing the contents of the chest; and Fig. 4 is a vertical section similar to that shown in Fig. 1, but with the drawer pulled out asin Fig. 3.

The chest 10 is preferably rectangular in shape and should be made of cheap material, and it has in the top a suitable cover 11 with a flange 12 adapted to fitinto' thering 13, which encircles the top opening of the chest. On the front side of the chest near the bottom is a rearwardly-extending inclined shelf or ledge 14, which is doubled under at its inner edge, as shown at 15, and then bent downward,

as shown at 16, so as to form a guard, which prevents the wasting of material in the chest. Behind the ledge 14is an opening l8,throngh which the tea or other material in the chest drops to the drawer 19, which is adapted to slide in the front opening 20, near the bottom of the chest. The drawer 19 is provided with a curved front portion, in which is an opening 21, which may be closed bya slide or door g 22, which has end flanges 23 pivoted in the drawer, as shown at 24., and the slide or door is provided with a knob 25, by which it may be operated, and at its lower edge is a flange 26, adapted to overlap the lower edge 27of the drawer front and thus make a tight closure. The drawer 19 is prevented from being drawn out too far by a hook 28, which is secured to the back of the chest and engages a cross-piece 29 at the rear end of the drawer, '10 as shown clearly in Fig. 4, and to prevent the drawer from beingaccidentally pushed in ward after it has been pulled out to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 flat springs 30 are used, which are held normally pressed against V the sides of the drawer to which they are fastoned; but when the drawer is pulled out the ends of the springs spring outward in front of the side edges of the chest 10 and thus prevent the drawer from being pushed in.

When the chest is filled for shipment the opening 20 is covered by a plate 31, which is lightly soldered or otherwise fastened to the chest, so as to render it air-tight, but which may be removed when the chest is to be used 85 indispensing or retailing its contents. The chest is filled with tea or other-commodity in the country in which such commodity is produced, and when it reaches the retailer the plate 31 is removed and the drawer 19 drawn 0 out until the springs 230 spring in front of the side edges of the chest and thus prevent the drawer from being pushed in, while the hook 28 prevents it from being pulled out, and it will thus protrude slightly from the chest, as 5 shown in Fig. 4-, and is in position for use. When any of its contents are to be removed the slide or door 22 is raised, as in Fig. 4., and the contents may then beremoved with an ordinary scoop, and when not in use the slide too is closed, so as to protect the contents of the chest from air and dust.

Having thus described vour invention, we claim as new and desire'to secure by Letters Patent 1. An improved tea chest provided with an inclined shelf projecting rearwardly from the inner surface of its front wall, a guard depending from the shelf and with a sliding drawer below the shelf, said drawer having a curved front and provided with a sliding door, substantially as described.

2. An improved tea chest having an open-. ing in its top closed by a cover, and provided with an inclined shelf projecting from its front wall, a downwardly projecting guard on the shelf, a drawer in the bottom, and a stop for limiting the outward movement of the drawer, substantially as described.

3. An improved tea chest having an opening in its top closed by a cover, and provided with an inclined shelf projecting from itsfront wall, a guard projecting downwardly from the shelf, a drawer in the bottom, a stop for limiting the outward movement of the drawer, and springs secured to the drawer and adapted to engage the chest when the drawer is pulled out to prevent the drawer from being accidentally pushed in, substantially as described.

4. An improved tea chest, comprising a casing having an opening in one side at the bottom, said opening being adapted to close by a temporary plate or cover, a drawer in the bottom of the casirig opposite the said opening, said drawer having a curved front and a sliding door, and stopping devices for limiting the outward movement of the drawer substantially as described.

5. An improved tea chest, comprising the.

chest proper provided with a cover and having an opening in one side at the bottom,

TYLAR B. THOMPSON. CHARLES T. HULL. JOHN H. WILLMAN.

'Witnesses:

THOMAS PHILLIPS, THOMPSON T. McLEoD. 

